That's My Girl
by Freightrain
Summary: Someone's got a research paper due on both of her parents due Monday, and not all the power in the world is going to keep her from finishing it. By 'all the power in the world,' she means her mother. Mom's not going to like having dad come over, either...
1. Raisin Me Up

**Please Read:**

The original idea for this story belongs to Dragonbreath1, along with his original characters, namely Anne, and a number of elements in this story. It won't be a carbon copy, having some things changed by myself and whatnot, but it will be similar. I feel a need to do this, since "Who's Your Daddy" and it's sequel, "All's Fair," were both extremely fun and very educational to me, as well as making me a fan of the coupling (as well as Anne). Unfortunately, for reasons I do not know, he has taken them down, in part spurring me to make this story. If someone wants to know what were his ideas and what were mine, feel free to ask. I should be able to answer it. And obviously...

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Sonic the Hedgehog series.**

If you're still roaming, Dragonbreath1, and you see this, drop me a note or leave a review, especially if you want me to take this down. I'd still appreciate to hear from you either way.

**That's my Girl:**

"_... But enough about my mother."_

It was a fair summary of her life, minus a few important details that she was willing to let slide, along with a few more that were now blacked out in permanent marker. The portion of the paper on her wasn't really what was worrying the lilac feline, not really. It was her daughter's _other_ parent that concerned her, specifically the details. She certainly hadn't picked up that infernal foot-tapping on her own, and certainly hadn't come from her mother either...

Blaze growled at the thought.

"_... I met my father for the first time when I was six. I was waiting in a tree to surprise him when Mom came back to the beach in his dimension._ (She blacked out 'in his dimension) _Unlike my mother, he seemed to understand how I worked as they looked around for me, since he saw me in the tree. His concerned look intimidated me, and I accidentally fell from losing my balance. With more speed that I have now, six years later, he caught me. I was worried he would scold me, so I told him I was trying to surprise him. That was the first time I saw him smile, and I still remember his first words._

_'You surprised me, all right,' and then he laughed a bit. It was the first time I felt that there was someone like me, at least in some world, somewhere._ (More words vanished underneath jet black ink, accompanied by a near inaudible growl) _And then we talked about what we would do next. He suggested going to a place called '_Twinkle Park'_..."_

The vase formerly sitting on the Queen's desk was gone when she looked up from her daughter's paper, smashed against the floor. An 'oopsie' smile on Anne's face told her that she had tried balancing it on her nose, once again, before placing the suprisingly intact vase back. It was one of the things she had picked up paternally, no doubt. Her father was a chaotic being if there ever was one. His green eyes seemed to mock the feline ruler whenever the princess assumed one of his poss, conscious or not. It contrasted starkly with the decorated office of the Queen, among them one of the original grandmaster piano pieces, emerald and diamond crystal chandeliers, and a well aged grandfather clock, tocking away along with Anne's foot. Not one of the virtue of patience, indeed.

She quickly blacked out the remainder of the story, two paragraphs which Queen Blaze the Cat could remember easily, and wasn't ready to introduce the idea of an amusement park to her world yet. As much as she liked to see Anne happy, it was always frustrating even thinking about that terrible role-model of a father, especially after what he'd done. Silence filled the room as the angry squeal of the marker stopped, and Anne's foot tapped, neither sets of sensitive ears hearing Blaze's teeth grinding against one another. Anne stood back up, not happy with but quite used to her mother's gaze upon her.

"Sorry, Mom," was all the young Hedgecat could muster with regard to the now broken artifact. It was a recurring trend starting from the child's youth, even before being poisoned by her her father's infectious personality, as good-natured as it supposedly was. There was no telling how long the pattern would keep up, despite anything of value having long since been replaced by replicas. Not that Anne remembered that at age one and a half. Blaze sighed, as she handed the paper back to her daughter, picking up the paper she had previously been reviewing on her desk.

The bill, regarding the civil war in the neighboring country of Galahorv, listed all the proposed military options, tools, equipment, and permissions allotted for the containment of the conflict, the third that had flared up in the last eight years. Of course, the plan was approved by the Council of Nations, and she had agreed to send in the Royal Army, once again. The plan boiled down to 'bust heads until heads no longer need to be busted,' as she had summed it up to Anne earlier. It had worked all her life, both personally and militarily. Excluding that now-untouchable-without-breaking-her-daughter 'father.' Her fist clenched.

"Mom?"

"Yes, dear?" replied the queen, focusing on the long, tedious signature passed down through the generations, indicating every name from her own and her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother's, of which she herself was named after. Said grandmother had, apparently, incinerated the original successor to the throne upon entering this world, not that their line had been terribly popular anyway.

"I can't turn just this in! There's hardly anything in this."

"Well put down everything you know, and I'll just cross out what you can't say." Over the centuries tradition had grown to be a part of specific importance to the royal family, especially being the oldest and most powerful nation on the continent, and one of the more advanced. It was not as advanced as some places Blaze had visited, and especially not as advanced as that Nega fellow from a couple of decades back.

"That was everything I knew, besides anything that deals either with any of the emeralds, or with Dad saving the world."

"You're certain he hasn't talked about anything else?" Her signature wavered on, hand used to the motion after a thousand times of failures, and ten thousand successes after that. Most of it was typed up on a typewriter, or one of the relatively new computers in the palace. Anne's computer had more possessing power than the rest of the world combined, being given to her by her adoptive 'uncle' at a birthday party when she turned eleven. It stayed in Anne's room, by order of Blaze, not that she ever used it much. As educational as it's potential was, she almost exclusively used it for playing games. Although that only happened when she was confined to her room, either from breaking something, or someone.

"Nothing that you would allow." She paused, smiling. "What do you know that I could put in my report?"

It was Blaze's turn to pause in thought, still not looking up from the entire page over half full of her still unfinished signature. She scowled, her pen pausing as she re-focused herself on her signature. "I'm sorry darling, but I guess I don't have anything. Did you ask Mr. Nelsar for an exemption?" Since her lineage started, their fire abilities had stopped wars, started other wars, and captured all seven of the world's Sol Emeralds, which were now stored in the palace, guarded by Blaze herself should the need arise. Guarding them had been her duty after her parents death doing the same when she was young, and as frustrating as Anne was, Blaze was eternally grateful.

"I did. He asked why." Anne smiled again, her tail pulsing between her left and right, its tan tip now flicking left and right in excitement. "I told him it was because my dad lived as a hero in an alternate dimension. He said I had to do the _whole _report."

Blaze was not so eternally grateful anymore, now knowing what Anne was up to. Her pen stopped as her eyes narrowed, left hand clenching for a moment, and she gave a menacing glance to her daughter. It was a wonder she was getting educated at all. She simply escaped every royal tutor Blaze had ever hired for her using her father's trademark speed, which she was far better at than producing flames. And despite having to be the first royal child in a public school, at least she would stay there. Before, Anne would run up the stone walls to the ancient palace roof, one more thing that had yet to be renovated from all the trampling it had received over the years. If there was one thing she wouldn't let come down from her father's side it would be his education; more or less, lack of one. There was a strong possibility that she had stretched the truth, as unbelievable as would be to the common folk of crossing dimensions, even further into inconceivability.

And the core of the planet was rather warm, too.

"I suppose you could ask him over the phone, then"

"The paper's due Monday, Mom!"Blaze sighed, knowing exactly where this was going as she returned her focus to the signature, buying whatever time she could. There were many things Blaze could get in the world. She had near absolute power over her subjects, not that she ever used it. Anything she could possibly want, she would usually get. And for a monarch, that's not something that all can brag about. Even ones that have a lot of say in the way their country is run, with a great big army to say it with, as was the case with Blaze.

Yet this _one little thing_ can slip through those cracks.

"All right, I'll get him, but-" Anne screeched with joy, jumping over the desk and pulling her shocked mother into a tight but quick hug, her pen scribbling ink over the almost finished signature, ruining it, before rushing out and into the halls, as loud as any twelve year old be without breaking the sound barrier. Still slightly dazed, Blaze looked down at the paper, grabbing another signing sheet. She picked up the trans-dimensional phone, hidden under her desk, and called the only number that was ever called. It wasn't that phone's weren't commonplace in her country, no, it was that she was certain this one phone cost more to operate on a monthly basis then every other one in the city put together, easily.

She sighed. _It's as though he never left._ She punched the numbers, and then returned her attention to the new signature. "Hello Tails? Can you get Sonic on the line for Anne..."

NOW LOADING...


	2. Groove Rush

This was a story I loved dearly as well. I must have read it dozens of times, even impacting my writing style. It wasn't something I could just let die, either. And I wasn't sure if anyone else would do it, let alone have the memory to do it. If anyone does want to help, or even contribute ideas, I'll gladly listen. It may be hard to improve on such a great piece, especially when you no longer have access, but I'm willing to give it a go. There's nothing stopping you from suggesting, so why not?

Also, Thank you for the kind words, but this is the part I find that I remember the best. Last chapter and part of this one, then it'll probably take some more noticeable turns. As for humor, it can be extremely difficult. Coming up with similar humor, and trying not to directly copy it is hard. Original ideas are even worse. We'll see how well those skills hold up when we go places the original story did not...

**Groove Rush:**

"_Apparently my dad met my mother one of the times she had to save the kingdom while she was still a princess. There isn't much literature on the topic this time, but apparently Blaze must have been undercover since this was a time when the kingdom has still refused to acknowledge her whereabouts. Honestly I don't think they knew where she went, assuming they know now. What I do know is that was the first time she met my father, Sonic. He hadn't been knighted yet, but apparently he was working towards a similar goal as her when their paths crossed. I'm not sure how, but he managed to get on her bad side and they fought a very intense battle. My guess would be that the scars are hidden under fur and quills. While it was mostly a draw, dad was in better control of his emotions which led to him winning in the end. It was stupid in the end, since it wounded both of them, and they had to co-operate to save the kingdom. It surprised me to hear that at one point they _had _gotten along..."_

Two hours and one signed document later, Anne handed the glorified telephone back to her mother, racing down to the portal-statue in the garden to meet her incoming father. She was thankful for only having to talk to Tails, Anne's adoptive 'Uncle,' and the only person in either existence both capable and willing to operate a trans-dimensional portal. Noises of said machine echoed into the cosmic-crossing phone, ejecting loud mechanical clangs and hisses of ear-shattering pitches. It was hard keeping sensitive ears listening to the phone when the two tailed genius wasn't talking. The explosions of what she presumed were things waiting to go wrong were even less comforting, especially when accompanied by loud, if distant, shrieks from such a genius.

"He's entered the portal, it shouldn't be long before he arrives," came a voice, his head muffling the mechanical mayhem that otherwise would overpower his voice.

"Wonderful," came her retort, speaking in such a frost even her flames would have difficulty melting it.

"By the way, Blaze..." Tails started, one of the few people to call the queen by her given name, "The last time Sonic came back from..." A hissing hum was building in the background, increasing in pitch. Blaze was glad she herself was only hearing it on the phone, and not actually in the same room as it.

"Yes?" It wasn't the first time she had heard the hum. It seemed to happen most times Sonic traveled, but it didn't _always_ end in disaster.

"...the last time he came back, his legs were really-" The high pitched hum culminated in a titanic wave of air, gushing out at superheated temperatures into the relatively cool surrounding air, releasing from pressure a vast wave of energy surging through the air at the speed of sound. The word _explosion_ would seem inadequate, but it's loud boom through the phone gave it away for what it was. "Ummm... please hold."

Impatiently, she held. A glance out her window told her that the portal in the garden had activated, the swirls of the 'Cosmic Highway' ever tumbling through its 'even horizon.' It was just a fancy door. Surprisingly, Anne had never jumped into the device, despite her reckless nature. She came close, on occasions, but never actually falling through. Blaze wondered if, perhaps, she should be down there restraining Anne rather than talking to Tails...

"Blaze?"

"Oh, yes Tails?"

"The, ahh... Chaos Combustion Chamber blew." Blaze had heard that before. It was just equipment, but there was a connection to it that made her fear that disaster had flared up again. Suddenly the sound of disassembled junk that, seconds ago, was still assembled, filled her ear.

"I hope it won't be too much trouble to fix. I have faith in your ability, Tails." She was more concerned with removing Sonic from this world as quickly as possible rather than any machine that brought him here.

"No, it shouldn't be... but, well... the Chaos Emeralds did that 'disappear' thing. Again." The temperature went up several degrees in Blaze's office rather spontaneously. Fury filled the room, the only thing keeping those Emeralds, that machine, and Tails safe was the dimensional barrier. Mostly.

"You mean that thing where they hide themselves across you planet and occasionally in some of your 'Special Zones?' Leaving that mechanical monstrosity as so much _raw scrap metal_?" It was said with a controlled rage of a thousand seas, eroding shorelines and drowning cities that dared to be in its way. The answer was contrastingly casual.

"Yea, basically." Her ear twitched.

"How long until you can fix it?"

"Well, I keep spare parts for everything relating to the Dimension Breacher, so a couple hours. The Chaos Emeralds may take a few days to find again, though... perhaps a week at most."

"A week!"

"A few days, tops!" his voice quickly replied. "I'll probably be able to get some help from Knuckles or Shadow, maybe even Rouge to..." Another loud boom rocked the palace for a moment, accompanied by the excited squeal of the Princess. A whiff of smoke and dust made its way lazily past the office window on its way into the sky. "Oh, I take it Sonic has arrived?" Blaze peered out the window.

"Indeed he has..." She seethed.

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: "Relax and have fun."_

"_Ooh, that wascally hedgehog!"  
_

"Cupcake!" Sonic grinned, stepping out of the portal, dusting off his pants. Blaze's realm required cloths by law, so Tails had made a type of pants that would handle supersonic running as well as his shoes. They matched his color well, and if he was doing anything faster than a walk you wouldn't be able to tell he was wearing them. The hedgehog was still shirtless, though.

"Dad!" A few steps out of the gate and he was nearly knocked back into the 'Cosmic Highway' by forty pounds of high-speed Hedgecat.

"Well, I was going to ask you if you missed me, but that seems like an obvious yes now." He hugged Anne back, before she let herself be put down. "So how was Spring Break?"

"Dull as an eraser," she responded, pouting. The girl sported a combination of long whiskers and short spines down part of her back, culminating in her long tail. She was a solid blue-lilac, but a shade lighter than either of her parents. She let her hair fall back with her spines, creating an illusion of long hair going down half of her back. Royal cloths covered her like her mother when she was younger, with white pants and shirt. Her overcoat was blue rather than purple, though, in admiration of her father.

"Oh? Why's that?" He was still smiling, even if it wasn't as wide. He was _always _smiling. It seemed to illuminate the world in fun whenever he was around simply through that smile. And his attitude, but that wasn't so visible on the surface.

"I had to do a paper on the ancient civilizations during the first inter-species war. It sucked, cause mom wouldn't let me go to the Karibbea island chain with my friends, even though it would be an easy run from here!"

"Huh. That place anything like the Bahamas?" Despite being an island, he had run there. He chuckled. Amy still hadn't found out he'd ever been there. Then again, now that she wasn't actively seeking him out because of Anne, he really didn't need to worry. Then again, at least he had a chance to escape her hammer before, too...

"I dunno," she replied, tilting her head in curiosity. Must be one of those cat things from her mother. She had only been to a big city called Station Square, and even when kidnapped, had never gone too far from the place. It seemed odd, but when someone included 'Egg' in their title, it must be referring to their brain. "What's it like there?"

"Alcoholic. And have you been practicing running on water without me, Anne? I thought you knew better." He laughed at her sly grin, finding no fault besides her mothers wishes. Then again, they _were_ the wishes of one very powerful combatant and world ruler. Not that she ruled the world, but if anyone did it would be her. "Ever try fish a la Martini?"

It took Anne a moment to get through the thicker language than what she was used to from her father, but she laughed. "Are you kidding? Mom would have a fit, even if I was fifteen. 'Nothing harder than lemonade' she once told me."

"Oh really?" he snickered, "Then remind her of the time _she _tried one."

"When was that?" Her enthusiasm far outweighed any thought process he wasn't having.

"Eh, my guess would be about eight, maybe nine months before you were born," pinning down the _exact_ _reason _why Blaze never had anything harder than lemonade since then. "But since I wasn't around when... Actually, lets settle for not mentioning it to your mother."

"Don't worry, she won't."

"Afternoon, Blaze." He smiled, turning to her. "How's the country?"

"Morbid," she replied, as if answering both for the country and for the evening's dinner plans. Sonic smiled, chuckling at his own little joke. Blaze didn't.

Did she hate Sonic the Hedgehog? No, that would be unfair. Eggman hated him, and she hated some of the people in politics around the world. No, Hate was a strong word, but beneath inadequate when she dealt with this particular menace. Their relationship had, step by step, gained the ups and downs of a spring into a bottomless pit. It started with one hell of an up, before tumbling into the endless void below. Blaze was learning just what that 'Endless' truly was, though she would have sworn having passed 'endless' long ago. It was amazing, looking back, waking up. Expecting a new life, courtship, and maybe a few more of whatever that was last night...

Then waking up to find she was the only one sleeping in a bed made for two. _That _had been enough for her not to ever wish to see Sonic again, plain and simple. And she was certain he'd have been happy to stay away from her too, given his actions. It might not have been a Happily Ever After princesses usually got, but she didn't need it. Blaze would be a strong queen on her own.

And then, a few months later, Anne came along. It was something the world screamed about for years, in agony of never meeting the father, or even knowing who it was. Eventually, once Anne was old enough to understand and ask to meet him, she caved in.

On the plus side, it was extremely satisfying to see the look on his face when she told him about his daughter. The thought still made her smile to this day. The flip side of the coin, though, was evident almost immediately. Perhaps if they hadn't attracted the attention of Eggman, gone on adventures, traveled all around Station Square, and met half the people Sonic knew, Anne would have just dealt with it like she did.

Instead, Anne would eternally count the days until the next visit from her father. Blaze scowled, inwardly and outwardly. Anne had never been able to get enough of her free-wheeling, fun-at-five-million-miles-per-hour 'parental' figure. What surprised her more was Sonic not being able to get enough of his daughter, either.

Sharp, white teeth showed themselves for a moment as Blaze's temper threatened to get the better of her from all the bitter thoughts. _Mr. Dependable now, aren't you? Sure. What about _my _needs? Where's _my _devotion?_

As oblivious as a blur could possibly be, Sonic was fully aware of his mistake. Probably his biggest, if not one of. And he knew it. He was now an occasional figure at the palace, generally around whenever Anne had time off, although not always. His instant wit and charm made him an initial hit with many of the guards and commoners, but over the years he had developed a strong reputation with his daughter for endangering anything not cut off by a large body of water. Nothing was safe when he and his offspring got together for 'fun.' Antique sword-juggling would be an example of this, something Anne hadn't picked up on her own. Nor was she particularly good at it, not that many remembered the incident for anything but the chandelier coming down in one of the hallways. As always, thoughts of Anne's father always put her in a foul mood; Memories would trigger sparks of flame blinking in and out of existence around her. But no, that wasn't the worst of it...

Sonic, undaunted, just flashed a little grin at her to distract her from his slight step backwards, not willing to provoke her.

...The worst of it was that every time he grinned, every time he showed off that carefree attitude of his, every bit of fun he showed of... she remembered just what it had been about him that she had wanted to see when she woke up. And that was far worse than anything he could ever teach to Anne.

Sonic just watched her glare move from the 'sweltering foundry' into an even worse look, one that could melt steel. This 'steel-melter,' as he named it, was only showing more and more threat and didn't appear to be going anywhere. There was no doubt she wanted as big a wall between them as possible, but he loved his kid, and he knew that his kid loved him back. He was willing to risk burning looks from his jilted lover to make her days fun and exiting, but the fewer looks like this one, the better. Any consideration and politeness he could afford her he did, presuming Anne's wishes didn't contradict those efforts, anyway. Regardless, life preservation skills kicked in, and he turned back to his little girl. "So! You told me about this report you have due soon..."

"Aw, you just got here dad!" she squealed, pulling on Sonic's arm with one hand. In the other was a surfboard Sonic had given her that she had retrieved during her parents 'reunion.' Presuming a reunion could qualify as stare-down between her parents with as few words as possible provoking it. "Lets have some fun!"

"Well..." replied her father, mental image of Blaze throwing him into the deep dungeons replaced by one of a sparkling beach, laying on the sand, listening to the radio. It may have been a memory of when he was younger with Tails, but it still gave him a new frame of mind to think in. "I do like fun." He smirked.

One firm glove grabbed Sonic by the other arm, while the other grasped Anne by the fur on her back as only a mother could. "Work comes first," she said, an undertone of growl on the side. "Right, Sonic?"

Anne spoke first, having experienced these conversations numerous times over the last several years. She knew Mom didn't like her spending time with Dad, or at least more than necessary. Some would consider it fair that she lose this discussion, having already managed to have Dad visit. Not Anne, though, and she unleashed her mightiest weapon any child could on their mother, Queen or not.

In Olympic form, she spun on one foot, and unleashed the cute-googley-eye look upon her stoic mother. "Pl-eeeeeaaaasseee Mom?" Rumor had it that the Queen had once stared a meteor falling into the atmosphere to turn tail and head for an adjacent planet. It made it all the more satisfying when her mother put a hand to her face and sighed in exasperation.

"Yea, Pl-_eeeeeaaaasseee_?" Sonic chided, mirroring his daughter's tone and expression. Her other hand let go of the blue hedgehog, pointing toward the rear gates of the palace. The duo slapped five before running on out of the gate, leaving behind a momentary blur.

"But you better get something done while you're out there!" A blue blur appeared for a moment again, running past her.

"Will do, Blaze." She never saw him, but she heard his chiding voice. It was possible Anne didn't even realize he'd run back to the palace and caught up with her again within a second. Despite the intended comfort, it only infuriated her further.

"I'm not kidding!" There was no response this time. She stood there, thinking, and grinding her teeth as her steel-melter wavered from her face into a more usual 'Shadow-frowney-face.' She still didn't trust them.

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: __"You have the three Rockmans in this game: _

_Rockman, Rockman Charcoal, and Rockman Steel/Chrome."_

The Beach was a half hour's run away at Anne's top speed, not that Sonic hadn't scooped her up and broken the sound barrier while they were in the countryside. They finally stopped, a sonic boom giving way to giddy laughter on the empty beach, scaring the Seagulls. It was the remote location and long hike that kept many people away from the palm beach paradise. White sand gave way underneath high-speed sneakers as a whale blew out a fountain of water in the distance.

The beach was technically supposed to be off limits, but royalty did have some special privileges. Plus, it had been in the bill to mark this place off as a 'reserve,' an idea from Sonic's world Blaze had implemented. The whales used this area as mating grounds during Spring, and had originally enjoyed going after Anne when she was surfing. A small meal beforehand was a fine mood-setter to the non-sapient carnivores. As they found out, though, a blue blur with red shoes constantly getting shoved down your blow-hole was possibly the number one mood-breaker, and even the sight of the hedgehog had them reeling for new grounds nowadays.

The sun was blaring, and Sonic sat up against one of the palm trees in some cool shade. Not that the journey had tired him, but it was nice not to be under a frozen pyrotechnic glare. "So, anything in particular you want to know about, Anne?"

"Oh, come on. You don't wanna run me out to the waves Dad?" Truth be told the waves weren't looking good, and after a bit of watching in quiet, she seemed to accept that. "Well, I guess we could go swimming later."

"Anne, you know if you want to swim far out we need your mother around. I'm anything but a life guard." He chuckled at the irony. Saving people for years and years, and couldn't save his own daughter if she stayed in the water too long too far out.

"Oh, fine. Later then," She pouted, plopping down on her dad's lap to listen to another one of his stories. They were good stories, far better than the ones mother usually told. "But promise me you'll come in part way, at least." She pulled out her googley eyes again, something that had just saved him. Chuckling, and in good humor, he gave in with a nod.

"So, don't make me ask again, what do you want to hear about? Anything specific you want to put in that essay of yours?"

"Well, you saving the world is not something I can put in, so Egghead is out." Sonic shared a brief laugh with the wind at the nickname. "Though she didn't say anything about your friends."

"Anne, the only person I ever met that didn't have to directly do with saving the world was Tails. And maybe cream, though that's arguable." He chuckled again, at how many of his friends had fought him when they met originally. It was stunning. Knuckles was the first one he had fought, too. Sonic laughed out loud, realizing that the rap Knux listened to was right: _unlike Sonic I don't chuckle._ Anne laughed too, as his laugh was contagious.

"Well, then why don't you tell me about when you met Uncle Tails?" Anne reoriented to facing him while still sitting on her dad's lap. It was her usual position when he told stories.

"All right then, I'll start at the beginning. I was born on Christmas Island, and was an orphan taken in for a couple of years by a bounty hunter named Nack, although he was better known for his codename, Fang the Sniper..." He had Anne hooked at bounty hunter, and if a tsunami washed away everything on the beach, she wouldn't notice until daddy finished.

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: "Not just hedgehogs can use the light speed dash. _

_I've done it once or twice."_

Blaze eventually managed to make her way to their beach hideaway. It had taken her some time to get everything tied together as perfect as possible in her brief absence, and the run took some up the rest. She was surprised to see the two sitting under a tree as Sonic spoke. She watched from a hill behind them, blending in behind some untamed shubs. Her ears tuned in the story being spun.

"... And he looked kind of odd, but I just figured it was his occupation, along with all the robotic animals. He was the guy with the gas, and I was the shmuck who crash landed his plane from lack of gas. It seemed easy enough to get some from him, so I stepped out of the bushes, introduced myself, and asked him where his circus was going to next."

"You told Egghead he looked like a clown?"

"Clown ringleader was more like it. Regardless, big, big mistake. He tried attacking me with his little creatures, yelling at me for being some kind of GUN Agent, and then tried to kill me himself. I fought him off, but then remembered he still had my gas. So all across the island I went, chasing him down. I eventually got it too, and I was happy to get off that lunatic island. If I had any say in the matter, that would have been the last time I'd ever see him. As it turns out, I had no say in the matter, whatsoever..."

Blaze had heard enough. She never liked Sonic filling her daughter's dreams with fantasies of saving the world from fatally-flawed clown villains, like that of Dr. Eggman. Repetitively, she had told Sonic not to talk about his fights with the Doctor. Rather than running over to give him a piece of her mind, though, she decided to walk. Unlike Anne and her father, Blaze had never been much into running, and when she did she augmented it with her flame abilities. She wasn't a natural, so going these kinds of distances to keep up with the mad-hog was tiring.

And a walk would be just fine to help her get that temper under control.

NOW LOADING...


	3. Get Edgy

And this is where things start to get dicey, folks. My memory starts breaking up a bit here, and it's bound to show. In addition, there's more characters to introduce now since Rush Adventure has come out, among other things (Olympics, Riders, potentially Black Night, etc...). This is where the real test begins for how well the writing will hold up, and if you've read the original I'd really appreciate feedback for how I'm doing, both writing and story-wise.

As for things changed so far, I'd like to get some opinions. Do you think I should keep the intro paragraphs that are supposedly from Anne's report? Also, should I change to normal Story Breaks or keep the "Lets Play Sonic 2006" Storybreaks? If they're not that entertaining it may be easier to leave them out. Or if there's anything else that seems out of place or odd that's less obvious to me, you can say so too. Its my writing and you'll notice it if you want to.

Also, I wasn't really sure how I wanted to approach the Tails story, so let me know if you thought it was effective. It probably won't be the main format I tell stories in, unless they're typically non-funny ones such as when Sonic met Tails. I didn't really want to put it in dialogue format, although it sort of is anyway. Although it's only Sonic's dialogue you see, and you have to guess if or what Anne is saying. You'll see what I mean.

**Get Edgy:**

"_Their cooperation happened again against a pirate named Whiskers, though he only appeared this one time. It was in the Southern Island Chain, and was also when my parents were first introduced to Marine, the acclaimed raccoon inventor and bounty hunter. At the time she was very young, but my father and his best friend had a very influencing legacy on the lone encounter. Her mechanical skills she picked up from Tails, and her resolve was from both of my parents. It wasn't always positive from Blaze, but she was 'out to prove herself,' according to my father, and 'annoying and reckless' according to my mother. The event paved the way for the South Oceanic Technology Collage that the island is now known for, as the vehicles Tails built were studied there as its first purpose. Apparently, rumor has it that they are still studying them. My mother and I were there for Marine's graduation, although we didn't stay long. Sonic was 'away on missions.' He's away a lot. A lot more could be said, but most of it comes from the 'tall tail' raccoon, who's age at the time brings her stories into question."_

"...but I already told you about Angel Island." Sonic smiled, recalling his own adventures aboard the oversized hunk of junk he'd disposed of several times. It was ironic, how building large space stations in the shape of their egotistical maker's face ran in Eggman's family, even when villainy didn't. Unless you counted Gerald Robotnik going insane at the end of his life, but Sonic didn't hold it against the guy. A pair of legs basked in the sun, remaining a stillness rare of them so that even the hourly shadows moved faster. Not including his right foot's air tapping.

"Uh, dad?" Anne piped up.

"Yes, Pumpkin?" He turned to look at his daughter.

"You didn't mention anything about meeting Tails." Sonic was the picture of surprise, so caught up in himself having missed his little bro. He couldn't believe himself, but all that gave him away were a few precious blinks, something only family could pick up. And she laughed his laugh, all forgiven, while smiling inwardly to himself at the resemblance. Pride was not something the hedgehog felt often, as bloated as Blaze claimed his ego to be, but pride was what he felt here. Parental pride.

"Right, then, I must have skimmed over that part." Anne laughed, a form of family apology to her hardly humble dad. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure I said Tails was the one who fixed up the dings in the plane, right? Before departing again."

"Right. So what was it like meeting him?"

"Well, its important to note I wasn't actually looking for him. You see, on my second crash landing I saw a GUN base not far away, and took note at it's air strip. I tried to land there, It seemed like the best bet for a safe landing despite..."

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: *when getting a B rank* "The designers understood._

_Which is really not comforting."_

Bullets shot past me as the Tornado descended more rapidly than I had intended, coming up short of the field. Holes dotted the wings of the craft, responsible for the deep decent, along with loss of the engine. Not that I knew it at the time. Or understood. In all honesty, the real damage was the engine, since it stopped mid-flight when I tried to land. I thought it had run out of gas again, although I learned later there was more to machinery than magical gears and weak armor. Still, the auto-land function moderately worked and set the plane down in a field not far from the base. I wasn't still on it at the time, though. A bit before it landed, I jumped out onto the ground to try and keep my quills straight this time.

GUN soldiers eventually came by, as I knew they would. Despite explaining my predicament, they didn't believe me. Nor did they believe I had fought, let alone beaten ol' Robotnik. Still, they took me into the base along with the Tornado where Tails first met the thing. They had him repair it as something to keep him occupied while his parents worked on a new jet engine design. When I heard a couple of human soldiers talking about them, I managed to obtain an introduction. Sure, it might have been that I was a 'furry,' as they called, but I firmly believe that if I hadn't put on a serious face, they wouldn't have let me. If you're wondering what face that would be now, Anne, It'd be close to the 'Shadow-frowney-face,' but more serious. Yes, that _is _possible, Anne.

Anyway, when I met them I was surprised to find that they were a pair of foxes, and not human researchers. Furthermore, since in my world, Humans are the 'superior species' or something, so it was a pleasant shock when I found out that the two were in charge of their research. Mrs. Prower was quite the nice lady, and Mr. Prower taught me a lot about what Tails hadn't fixed on my plane. That is, after I told them my story and demonstrated my speed. I spend a portion of the evening with Tails, playing tag across the base, then in the fields surrounding when the base commander kicked us out for the duration of our game.

The night didn't go so well for Tails, though. He got really tired out from flying around with his two tails to catch me, since I was slower back then and he could. I was ten, what'd you expect? I hadn't yet broken the sound barrier yet! Hey, hey, no laughing! Have _you_ broken it yet, Anne? No, I didn't think so.

As I was saying, his parents worked into the night on the engine, getting quite tired I imagine. I donno if they were pushing a deadline or if it was just persistence, but their fatigue was fatal. The engine prototype exploded, killing both of them and a number of humans as well. Tails was devastated, and kind of became shy for a while of anything around him. It didn't help some of the things people said to him, either, like 'this base is a research facility not a petting zo-*cough* I mean daycare center. I felt sorry for him, and he took a liking cause I was his only friend there those first few days. Later, when he had finished up with the Tornado, he asked if he could tag along. I didn't see why not, and he even knew how to fly the thing better than I did! The rest is history...

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: *asking townsfolk where Egg carrier went loading screen*_

"_Find out where that battleship went, will ya?"_

"... As for why we call him Tails, I really shouldn't have to tell you that, should I?"

"Ha! I got that, dad. Its kind of obvious with a lot of your friends and their abilities." It was something Anne had noticed whenever her father mentioned most of his friends, and some of his other acquaintances as well. Still, those that she remembered easily were from multiple experiences, such as Egghead, Tails, Amy, and Cream. Blaze rarely let her travel to the otherworld with Sonic, so usually they would wind up coming here, either by choice, by event, or by Eggman's plans to defeat him.

"I suppose that's true isn't it," he replied, not caring. Everyone was entitled to their secrets, and one thing was real names. Although in his case he couldn't remember what it was. Although he had the sneaking suspicion he didn't like it. Seagulls flew above, his gaze resting on the chaotic formations darting above the beach. Anne watched too, never quite certain about what had captured his attention. In truth, nothing had caught his attention. He was simply too busy to be bothered by what the birds did in front of him, and the irrelevance made it easier to focus inward.

As far as his trance took him, he was not entirely oblivious to the change in scenery from harmless seagulls to a furry face of frustration. There was something she was unhappy about, for certain. Chances were it pertained to him, though.

"Hi, Mom," Anne replied cheerfully. "I though you had work to do?"

"I took a break." The monotone voice told Sonic it did indeed pertain to him. "Sonic, lets have a talk."

_Called it._

"Sure, I can handle that. A nice, slow walk." Smiles were popping up often on his face today, and when they did leave, Anne usually managed to call them back quick if his own humor didn't. "Where 're we goin'? Or just having a parent to parent talk?" Blaze made a low growl, indicating to Sonic the latter.

"Anne, you just stay here and wait for us to get back, OK?" Blaze knew her daughter well, but out here there were no royal butlers, servants, guards, or other castle employees to keep an eye on the fast-paced princess.

"Sure mom, I can do that." Sonic caught the glint in her eye, and matching smile to one of his own. Or so Tails had told him, anyway. Blaze had mentioned it too, but it was more of an insult rather than any sort of potential praise for Anne's relationship with Daddy Hedgehog. Honestly, he wasn't sure about the danger level the cat had in store for him. Last thing he needed was an Alice in Wonderland reference, as this queen would definitely give him maximum punishment for anything so 'trivial' as painting the roses red.

Or saying they were red, anyway. After all, the only thing he'd done so far was talk. It wasn't like he told her about anything _dangerous._ Or, at least, too dangerous. Then again, his definition of 'mildly hazardous' was to her 'incredibly reckless.'

He wondered what Blaze would thing of the time he'd played around in time paradoxes. On second thought, he didn't want to know.

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: "And you have to pursue the Egg Carrier."_

"_Is it a battleship or is it a carrier?" "Yes."_

"You're making this take longer than it needs to." Even in her mind, it probably wasn't true. If anyone, it was Anne, but since she did happen to have part of his genetics. It was still more convenient to blame him than her daughter, though. Over the years she had developed an additional part of her brain specifically to this task, the 'Throttle Sonic' lobe. "What have you told her so far for her report?" She didn't let him rebuke her first comment, not that he particularly wanted to. Blaze's temper was incredible. He could think of three joke at any time about how bad it was, but now was not the time to say them.

"Well, I told her about when I met tails, as well as my time with Nack and when I headed out on my own for the first time." Her glare was back to 'sweltering foundry,' with a hint of accusation. She stopped walking, maintaining her potentially pyrotechnic glare. "Ok, maybe I accidentally mentioned a bit about Eggman since I met him in between my first flight and meeting Tails, but-"

"But nothing. The last thing I need is Anne wanting to go galloping around the world fighting as many bad guys as possible."

"I haven't taught Anne anything I wasn't supposed to. No need to get to get edgy. If she picks it up on her own, what am I supposed to do about it?" The sun's heat gave way to that coming from the cat, and unknowingly Sonic took a step back. A look of indifference was on his face as he continued. "Besides, she did ask me about how I met Tails. Backstory is necessary, you know."

"Well then, next time leave saving the world out of the backstory."

"Come on, it was just one island!" For once, he was annoyed. It was uncommon for him, but with accusations flying, Blaze wasn't the only one heated. "Its not my fault he keeps coming back and I keep saving the world."

"You could let someone else try for a change. What about that GUN group? And Shadow? Or any of your other friends, for that matter!"

"Well, actually Shadow works for GUN now, in case you forgot. And when I was younger there wasn't anyone else who was stepping up to the plate. Even now, I still have to get involved."

"You get involved because otherwise you'd have nothing else to do." It was spiteful, and it was correct. She had noticed this over and over, especially that whenever she did see him before Anne came along he was always saving the world. Sonic seemed confused, rather than upset, though.

"Of course. Not that I wouldn't mind doing nothing, but its who I am. Getting into dangerous spots is something I've been doing all my life. What's the problem of having fun if it benefits society?" She growled, teeth clenched. Sonic watched the ocean's tide, keeping Blaze in his peripheral vision. He didn't notice her face twisting back into the 'steel-melter,' and kept going. "Besides, you cant tell me you didn't have any fun when you met Cream and Marine while we were saving the Sol Emeralds."

A crackle caught his attention and Sonic glanced back at the pyro-powered feline. Step by step, snaps of flames like firecrackers erupted around her scowling, closed eyes. A hand was over her forhead as she focused, trying to stay in control. It wasn't like her to get pushed to her limits, but sonic was a button pusher. She guessed it was something about him. Knuckles had told her about all the people who Sonic has met that tried to kill Sonic, including himself. It was strange that no one ever succeeded, and how many became friends after. Even Eggman had allied himself with Sonic on several occasions. Sonic didn't just live on the edge, he lived past it in eternal freefall. And got away with it. That was his 'curse,' and he enjoyed every minute of it. Idiot. Complete chili-dog loving moron. Control, control, control...

"You..." She finally managed, opening her eyes as the crackling of flame subsided as she regained control. "You are _impossible_."

"Thanks," he grinned at her. "I try."

And his eternal humor. One of the things he had picked up from being in constant danger was laughing it off, along with enjoying it. It set people at ease with him, such as the royal guards. She had chastised them several times for being too lax while Sonic was around. It stood out among his qualities, she imagined. Not that she cared for any of them and-

"Blaze?"

"Huh?"

"You're smiling."

"What?" she immediately and intentionally grimaced at the revelation, forcing her features into a face that could be stretched by imagination into anything but a smile. Sonic, oddly and consciously, perisisted.

"You were smiling." The temperature went up a warning degree. "Okay, lets say you weren't." He decided to walk over to a nearby tree and sit down, when a rustle in a nearby bush behind Sonic caught Blaze's ear. It wasn't hard to figure out what caused it, and Sonic was apparently ignoring it, still smug about something.

"Ok Anne, come on out." Sonic watched with one eye closed, a peculiar habit of his when he was relaxing. Or at least Blaze thought so. More peculiar was how the pre-teen hedgecat hadn't caught the habit from him yet. Her face was somewhere between confusion and disappointment at being caught. "What have I told you about eavesdropping?"

"Hey, I can't help it if I got here before you guys decided to walk by."

"Anne!" Blaze sighed. This wasn't going anywhere. "Its inappropriate to listen to other people's conversations. Especially when they specifically say to _stay where you are._ Its impolite and unladylike..." Anne's face was devoid of emotion as her eyes focused on her mother. She was focused, just not on the lecture.

Anne had always enjoyed being with her parents, and especially both of them at the same time. It saddened her that Mother hated Dad, but there had been this flame burning since she first met Sonic that Blaze still did like him, even if she didn't show it. Over the years, the candle had begun to dim in the immense fury that surrounded it, but now there was evidence. Blaze had quite clearly smiled at Sonic's joke, and not even her mother's quick denial would have erased that from her memory. It only engrained it in the now well stoked flames of hope for her parents getting back together.

"... I'll decide punishment when we get back to the palace, though. So, Anne, you got that?"

"Yes, Mother," she sighed, not caring about the lecture, or the decision of punishment her thoughts had prevented her from hearing. Still, thinking hard, Anne took a seat next to her father on the sandy white beach. Waves came and went as the three stayed there, unmoving like statues. Sonic's left ear flicked twice, spontaneously, before Blaze had enough of the peace.

"So."

"So," Sonic echoed, "What?"

"Don't you have things to tell Anne? For her paper?" she was getting annoyed again, but not very. The tranquility had mostly calmed her, and if things were moving slow, it made her think of Sonic less. Slow wasn't Sonic's style, despite his resting here.

"Eh, why don't you tell her something? We've done things together. Or did you forget about all the parties and sports so soon?" He had a point. Those things had slipped her mind. She still had one of the hoverboards Tails had made for her. She used it now and then to help with collecting the Sol Emeralds. It let her cross vast distances quickly without a lot of effort, even if it was only about three quarters of her top speed. It was down in the basement with the Sol Emeralds themselves, a place she still wasn't letting Anne enter.

"Ok, how about your swimming events at the Olympic Games?" His eyes shot open in surprise. Anne's eyes pleaded for the story as Blaze sat down next to her. Anne, now between both her parents, awaited eagerly for her mother to begin. Sonic, on the other hand, gave in to his surprise and smiled. At least Anne would get a kick out of the whole ordeal.

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: "What I don't get is why he doesn't just jump onto the ship right there."_

"_...hedgehog psychology. Its the chase that's valued." "Yea the chase is better than the catch."_

It started when your father invited me to participate in a special variant of the Olympic Games with another 'friend' of his called Mario. Mario actually lives in a different dimension than your father or I do, Anne. Complete with villain, might I add. I got along pretty well with him and his princesses, actually. He and his brother actually both use fire attacks sometimes, so it's something we share, but enough about the red and blue plumber hero.

Your dad and he had a big rivalry before, and these Olympic Games were created to create a more friendly atmosphere between them. As I said Sonic invited me to participate, which surprised me. He didn't invite older friends like Rouge or Omega, although the latter was a robot. We had only met twice in two years, one of which was a month beforehand when he handed me the invite.

It was all very elaborate, with a lot of events, but there was one particular swimming disqualification story that to this day I get a kick out of. Yes, it is that one Sonic, and no I'm not stopping. You could use some more humility.

As I was saying, it was a swimming event. There were a total of eight participants, including Mario and his enemy, a couple of human princesses, your father, Eggman, Shadow, and myself. Now generally, there isn't much clothing changes between events. Unfortunately for your father, his non-existent swimming ability required him to have to wear a life jacket during the event! No, I'm being serious, or else this story didn't happen. Sonic, if you can swim lets see it. There's a beach right there.

I thought so.

So the event starts, and Mario is doing quite well. He's not far in first, but that's where he is. Now your dad isn't in last, but he's hardly doing well. I wasn't watching, but suddenly everyone stopped swimming when a bunch of water and waves made their way through the pool. They weren't the normal kind either. When I got my eyes clear I saw Mario swimming the other way, through several lanes over to where a whole bunch of splashes were occurring. A life jacked floated nearby, loose from the owner.

A lot of people assumed the worst when he went under, but Mario managed to pull both himself and Sonic onto the side of the pool. Eggman himself actually held up some of the lane dividers to assist him. I asked him about it later and, par for the course, he said he wanted to be responsible for Sonic's death. I think it was because if Sonic died at the Olympics from a fluke, it would make all his efforts to kill him look even more pathetic.

After that I focused on getting out, but when I got to where Sonic was he was coughing out water. His chest was red, and Eggman said that Mario had hit his chest in some special way to get the water out of his lungs. Apparently, he had a degree as a doctor he didn't use much. That was pretty funny, looking back, but it gets better Anne.

About two seconds after Sonic opened his eyes he starts trying to get back at Mario for making him drowned, before Mario's giant turtle enemy grabs him and tells him he just saved him. Eggman even has to ask for a replay before your dad actually believed it!

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: "Oh a feather. If I eat this I'll gain her powers."_

_Tails: It looks like the princess was moved to another location. "Perhaps to another castle."_

"I resent that story." Sonic didn't look too bothered anymore, but Anne was laughing hysterically at how helpless her father had been in the water. "You were biased, and I did not accuse Mario of drowning me.

"Oh, come on Sonic, you can't win them all." Blaze didn't realize that this statement stretched out to her as well, and for once the two exchanged grins, even if they weren't 'saintly-smiles.'

"Very true, Blaze. Hey, Anne, you remember the time we went to Twinkle Park, right?" She paused her laughter for a moment, then shrieked suddenly. Blaze's ears went back, first from the idea, then from the shrill from her own daughter.

"That was fun! I just wish I remembered more of it."

"Well, what do you remember?"

"I mainly remember being with Aunty Amy." Sonic and Blaze winced. Neither had fond memories of the girl, and how Anne was on good terms with her was beyond either of them. Blaze guessed it was because if she couldn't have Sonic, she'd just take the next best thing. The whole ordeal had been very... emotionally testing. Still, she couldn't fault Sonic for telling the story, there were some things she herself didn't remember either. But she hoped he wouldn't.

"You want a mind refresher?" Hope fleeted away from the quick-running hedgehog as fast as he could chase it. _What goes around, comes around. _If all else was turning sour, at least the Sol Emeralds were safe.

NOW LOADING...


	4. Back 2 Back Part 1

I'm surprised that format last chapter was received so well, but now that I know I'll keep it in mind for stories that don't need so much dialogue in them as this one does. Therefor the Twinkle Park section will be a true flashback with dialogue as opposed to a narrative that 'tells' the story, who's primary charm is the imagining of reactions based on non-story speech, as elegantly pointed out in the reviews.

Yes, I do take my readers seriously. I just wish I knew if I had any readers that haven't read the original story (laughs to self).

Also, sorry for the long delay. In wanting to do this right, as well as real life needing attention, I did research. A LOT of research, in addition to a lot of work. Did you know that SEGA had a place called SEGAWORLD? There were a few of them, such as SEGAWORLD Sydney. I looked at the old website for it, and found an interesting ride: Aqua Nova. For those of you who know the battle theme of Sonic and Blaze from Sonic Rush, its a very odd coincidence. As a side note, research also does include playing through Twinkle Park as both Sonic and Amy, too. Also, I'm splitting it into two parts because of how long it's taking.

Btw, if you wanna see an epic (in my opinion) Back 2 Back music vid, look up "Back 2 Back" - A Kojin/Sonic Vid on youtube. I watched it many times while I was writing this to keep me feeling the Rush (pun intended).

And once again I'm worried about the quality, but I'll probably be saying that every chapter. Let me know if I wind up being right though. So, if you read all that, then here is your reward at long last, Part 1 of the Twinkle Park story:

**Back 2 Back (Part 1):**_(Flashback chapter)_

"_Some people say my dad is overprotective of me. Not only do I find it hard to believe, but I think it's really quite weird people think it. Whenever my dad takes me anywhere and things go south, he doesn't try to get me out of danger because he knows I can handle it most of the time. Not that it happens often, and I really can't get into specifics of any situations that 'may or may not have happened.' Those are Mom's words, not mine. If anything, my mother says he isn't protective enough of me. From what I understand, he was an orphan who came up with almost all of his fighting techniques on his own time as he was growing up from trial and error. With what he handled learning on his own, he's told me, he already feels safer just teaching me how to use my abilities. When I inquired what would happen if I didn't know how to get out of a situation, he just laughed. While I have no evidence, it certainly seems that he has never gotten trapped during his adventures. Or at the least, never had any traps that could hold him. The latter is certainly more likely."_

"Daddy, what's this thing called?" Anne called out. Blaze too wondered about it, but didn't feel necessary asking considering she was more interested in what lie on the other side of the line in front of them. Only the music and the view of the ocean through the windows were really worth the time coming here so far, and the delay was not helping her temperament. Royals never waited for anything, unless it was necessary such as gathering information, or preparing a proper meal from time to time. People waited for _her,_ not the other way around.

"Which thing?" Sonic replied, his daughter resting on his head, something she had seen the human children doing and wanted to try. The only real danger was his quills, but that hadn't stopped Anne from insisting. Heck, if anyone insisted long enough, they could usually get the incorruptible hedgehog doing exactly what they wanted. Anne just had to say it once.

"This bridge-thing we're in."

"Oh, it's called a Skyway, Anne. You usually see them in urban areas, and especially in the northern cities where it gets really cold. It's still summer right now, though, so it's hardly necessary. And you see that in there, just ahead? That's where we get in."

Anne heard the voice of her mother as she spoke, but it didn't register. She could hear excitement now from inside the building, and her mind went wild. She had never heard such screams or laughs before. Step by step, the suspense overtook her. Lights flashed everywhere, every second. Stuffed animals and fun games filled her ears, echoing from the distance under the roar of roller coaster tracks. The ever changing pitch from the coasters drew constant attention despite their slow speed to the hedgecat. It was all overwhelming.

"I know, I know," replied Sonic. "You have the tickets, right?"

"Of course I do. Anne has hers in her _pocket_. I have ours in my _pocket._" The emphasis didn't pass him by, and for once, he bit. Or at least nibbled, he had already learned not to bite too hard when a feminine temper was involved, especially any female close to him and his age. At least Amy wasn't here.

"Well, exc-"

"Don't you dare say that, Sonic. Solaris knows I've heard that enough. Besides, I'm not a princess anymore."

"My point still stands that we are here, in Station Square, not in your castle. Or anywhere in your world, for that matter."

"Fine. Laws are more lax while being more... humane." It was an insult to the humans, stemming from her world that had leaked into this one slowly. Discriminatory by Humans against Sapient creatures like Sonic himself. "In your case, in regards to clothing."

"...You mean the pants?"

"Yes the pants."

"The lack of pants?"

"The lack of pants."

"Are you making fun of-"

"No. This is about setting an example for _Anne. _Not about your-"

"Hey, Blaze?" she scoffed at him. As heroic as the hedgehog could be, she was surprised at how sensitive he could be over-"Where's Anne?"

Her first facial expression was one of surprise from the radical shift in topic. The second was one of processing the physical movements of getting out the tickets and handing one to Sonic. The third was the final onset of the implications of the statement as a sense of panic struck the cat. Quickly getting her ticket punched, she rushed into the park only to be met by a wall of humans in front of her. Sonic quickly caught up to her, as reality sunk in.

"Anne!" She called out into the crowd. "_Anne!_" Blaze ran headlong in, crazed for the safety of her daughter. Said daughter could do minor flame creation and could run over one hundred miles per hour fairly easily even at her age, but to her mother it was irrelevant. Sonic, on the other hand, while concerned was limited to damage containment as the crazed cat searched for her daughter. He had grown up in real hostile environments, after all; this was a walk in the park. Or theme park; same difference. The only real thing in danger was whatever lie between her and Blaze.

"'Scuse me, Spinnin' on through. Blaze, You gotta calm down, you'll-" he looked up at the ride they went by a second time. Sonic sincerely hoped she wasn't on that log flume, or more specifically, trying to swim in it. Blaze had been sure to teach Anne swimming, but her father was still lacking in that talent. He peered at the sign, before looking over towards where Blaze had made another mess with a local couple. Running to the _Vela Nova Log Chute_ exit, he hoped it wasn't too late. Something seemed familiar about that sign.

"Listen, cat. I haven't seen your kitten around, and we have better things to do."

"Commoners, if you don't let me look back there so help me I-"

"Blaze!" Sonic appeared next to her, being careful not to run too fast and blow his cover. "Come on, she's not here. Lets look over there." Quickly directing her further into the park, he turned back as he pushed her onto a bridge. "Sorry, that time of the month." He had never actually seen her having that time of the month, so it was a possibility. The lady seemed to forgive him, but the guy didn't seem so ready to forgive as they walked in the opposite direction. He closed his eyes for a moment, shaking his head. When was he ever the sane one?

"Is that her down there?" Blaze suddenly said, looking over the railing to a walkway below. Another young sapient appeared as a dot below, similarly colored to Anne but it wasn't certain.

"Donno, lets take the stairs and check it ou-Wait!" The mother cat was preparing to jump the distance down to the pathway suspended in stars below. It wasn't much of a fall to either her or Sonic, but...

"Its a clear shot, I know what I'm doing. She's right there!" the feline yelled back. "She is so going to..." Sonic called out to her to stop, but it was too late. Unknown to Blaze, Twinkle Park's 'lack of railings' were very cunningly hidden so they didn't distract from the atmosphere of eternal night that made up the holographic walls of the indoor park. They were invisible up until the touch.

And Blaze got quite the touch on the head.

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: __"And Tails moves like molasses."_

"_Well he's not really a hedgehog, is he?"_

"Ow."

"Oh, Blaze, you're up. That's good." The cat's eyes opened, taking in their surroundings. She felt like she was laying on raw wood. Quite unroyal-like. "You hit your head on the invisible rails. Don't question it. It's how these holograms they installed work. Hold this." Blaze was in no mood to question the hedgehog as she placed a hand onto the cold water bottle. It probably had been cooler ten minutes ago when he got it from a nearby machine, but it probably would have stayed cooler longer if Blaze hadn't been, well, Blaze.

"Is everything a... hologram?" She managed, her eyes regaining a sense of liveliness. He guessed she was still trying to figure out what exactly was going on around her. He had moved Blaze off the bridge and over to a bench, but hopefully she wouldn't be too upset once she fully regained her senses. Still, it was a legitimate question, proving that there were gears turning in her head.

"No, they installed it several years after opening as a new attraction. Thus the eternal night. Besides, if they'd done that, they wouldn't have the giant AS-I Pinball machine."

"The what?"

"Nothing," He quickly said, "Never mind; forget I said anything." There was no way she would ever approve of Anne going on- "Anne. We were looking for Anne, remember?"

"I remember, Sonic." She chided him in a manner of false dignity, covering her fib. "Anne!" She called out towards a nearby crowd, standing up. "Anne, are you-"

"Mom!" came a voice back. "Daddy!" it squealed, followed by a small figure making her way out of the crowd towards her parents. "There you are!" Two supersonic hugs and a gust of wind later, she stood in front of her parents, grinning and holding up a medium sized stuffed gorilla. Sonic just went with it, smirking at the false beast's red tie. Blaze didn't seem to either notice or care for the prize, instead remembering exactly what it had been that made her so panicked.

"What did you think you were doing, young lady?" she said sternly. It took a moment for the hedgecat to realize exactly what her mother meant. "You are going to be grounded as soon as we get back to the palace.

"Moo_ooo_oom."

"Don't 'Mom' me, Anne. You know better than to run off while were here, especially without super-"

'Thud' went the back of Sonic's head as he tumbled between mother and child; a large, red blunt object settling on the ground in his place. Blaze turned back to the crowd as another hedgehog stepped from the veil of the crowd, making her way towards the trio. Despite the surprise, Blaze's face only showed a seemingly disconnected calmness. Anne looked down with slight shock and concern, but otherwise unphased. Sonic was eating holographic dirt, and as likely as it was that there was pain all around his head, his voice was its usual sarcastic self.

"You misplace your hammer, Amy?"

"Oh, no. It's right where I wanted it, thanks." There were few things Sonic and Blaze could ever agree on, but one of them was Amy Rose. Once Sonic's 'Number One' fan and self proclaimed 'girlfriend,' she now wanted nothing to do with him after the reveal of Anne to her. She had been present at the time when Blaze told Sonic about his daughter, and had quickly gone off the hook. Fortunately, her speed was lacking, allowing the duo to make a hasty escape to where Anne had been waiting. Now, she spent any occasion she came across the blue blur making his life miserable, often incurred with a hammer strike of some sort. 'Bowling for Sonic,' as it became known, was technically incorrect. So far, she had always found a new way to bean him in the head with her hammer, which was saying something.

"I found 'em, Aunty Amy," Anne told the pink hedgehog. It was an unfortunate name that was one of the few mistakes of the mechanical minded 'Uncle Tails,' who originally interpreted that all of Sonic's friends were going to be treated like aunts and uncles. Some names stuck, while others she let go of with ease when they finally clarified this to Anne; Aunty Amy in particular stuck most likely because of the alliteration. That was Blaze's guess, anyway. Sonic just figured she was showing of her vocabulary.

"Yea, you did, Anne. And Blaze," she cooed, hate burning beneath the words, "Its so nice to see you again!" Blaze put on her royal face, hiding any disgust she had with the hypocritical creature. It wasn't her fault Sonic never dated her. If she wanted him so bad, she could have him. Or, more preferably, kill him.

"Same to you, Miss Rose." Hostility was in the air, fresh from the cleaners, as she put her hammer away. "Might I ask where you found Anne?"

"We've been in Timeless Carnival for a while, but decided to leave for a bit." Wolverine would have failed to penetrate the tension, had it been in physical form. "I managed to snag the last two tickets to a magician later, though. Thought we might go back to that later." Blaze frowned, realizing Amy intentionally left out asking for permission.

"In case you forgot about me," Sonic muttered as he stood up, "Ow." Blaze handed him the now lukewarm water bottle, and he took it gladly. If he didn't do something quick, he wouldn't be the only thing needing some sort of first aid. "You girls wanna go on Rail Chase?"

"What's that, Dad?" Anne asked, curious.

"It's that roller coaster up there." He pointed to a large hill of some sort of track as a series of carts were pulled to the top. Anne watched with awe as it neared the top. Neither of the women cared to take more than a glance.

"That?" She kept her eyes on the coaster as it finally began gliding over the hump. Almost instantly, it started accelerating as screams erupted from the cars. They could hear the pitch change as it moved,, nearly a blur itself. It was one of the top ten fastest roller coaster rides in the world. "It looks slow."

Her father paused, almost stunned, before laughing. "I guess I should have expected that. All right, fine. We'll save it for when you find a boyfriend and wanna go for a gentle love cruise." At last, the tension seemed to be fading away, at least slightly. Amy let out a hardy, high pitch giggle and Blaze even laughed slightly, showing a rare smile. Sonic laughed again as his daughter stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"Hey, why don't we go to that magic show you were mentioning, Amy?"

"Oh, that? As I said, there were _only_ two tickets left when _I_ got there. _I_ bought them since _Anne_ really wanted to go." Blaze growled at the pink abomination. "The show's starting in about twenty minutes."

"Well, what about us?" Blaze asked, irritated, but Amy just ignored her as she continued talking to Anne.

"Come on, Anne, you don't wanna be late, do you?" Amy said to her as Anne was hoisted onto her shoulders, similar to how Sonic occasionally did it. "We'll meet you outside of the theater when the show end, ok? It goes until 2:30."

"Okay, Amy." Sonic called back while Blaze fumed, staring intently at the two figures. "Just don't get into too much trouble!" But Amy was already talking intently to Anne as they made their way back into the mess of people walking along the main path.

"I think she got her lying skills from Amy," Blaze said as soon as they were far enough away. Sonic just laughed.

"Come on, we might as well try to enjoy as much of this as we can." He pulled her arm in the opposite direction, towards the large castle that Rail Chase centered around. Regretfully, she agreed. It didn't mean she had to like the fact that she was with him, though.

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: __*Tails screams, falling* *group laughs hard*_

"_You killed Tails." "I'm so sorry Tails."_

"I don't see what the amusement of this place is, Sonic." It was one of the few things that actually held some sort of interest in the hedgehog's mind, but Blaze was hardly impressed by the maze. "It's just a bunch of mirrors to get lost in. It's not even that hard to get out." Alas, there was a reason they didn't charge for the place. Then again, the Visionarium did have trap door floors that they hadn't come across yet.

"There's more here than just mirrors, Blaze," He tried to enforce. They were coming up on the first trap door section, and he didn't want to give too many hints. The coaster rumbled through a nearby tunnel behind the mirrors, vibrating them. Sonic watched himself in the mirror as Blaze continued walking, arranging his quills to stall for time. Suddenly, she stopped just on the edge of the first door.

"You mean like those hidden floor traps?" she said, nonchalantly. Her mind was clearly on other things, from the way she said it. Then again...

"How'd you know?"

"They vibrated when the coaster came through." There was a pause, and she looked back to see Sonic just staring at her.

"You're a regular detective, you know that?" The unintended flattery seemed to strike a chord, and she looked back to the trap door in the floor.

"If I was such a detective, wouldn't I have been able to find Anne? Am I just that bad of a mother?"

"Hey, being a detective and raising a daughter are two very different things, Blaze." He walked up beside her, offering a sympathetic face.

"Well, than why was Anne so intent on going with Amy earlier? _I'm_ her mother, not that... that _girl_," she spat, emotions getting the better of her. It was rare for the queen to ever have such a breakdown, but something about this world changed her. Sonic noticed it, too, but never said anything about it. It put a distance between Blaze and her duties as ruler, something that allowed her to function in a more natural state. Still, this side of the lilac feline was rare; while she wasn't crying, it was clear that Blaze felt poorly of herself.

"Blaze, Anne is your child, and she's always around you. It's only natural to want to be with people you see less than with those you see more. At least, for the people you like. Amy's-"

"Then why does she like Amy more than either of us? Why'd she just run off? I should have been watching her closer, making sure she didn't pull off anything... anything like this. If I was the mother I should be then I should be making her laugh and teaching her how to control fire. Instead I'm bogged down all the time in governmental work..." She glanced over to Sonic, and was surprised to find his hand on her shoulder.

"Blaze, you have two, no, three of the largest responsibilities in the world: governing, protecting the Sol Emeralds, and raising Anne. Each one is more difficult than the last. Combined with the fact that her other parent isn't always around..." He was treading on thin ice, and he knew it, but for once it didn't seem to be breaking. "and the traits said parent has passed on to his protege, doesn't make raising Anne easy. It may not always seem like it, but she does love you just as much as she loves me." The sentence set off her frustration with the hedgehog, but it also calmed her in a way that statement normally didn't. "Originally it was just going to be Anne and I coming here, remember? But she pleaded with you to come along. There's only one reason why she would want you along when you normally enforce rules and regulations on her. You may spoil her fun, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't like having fun with you as much as she does me." He smiled softly, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, he did have a point. His faults only drove home the point in how chaotic Anne was, as well. "The only real difference is that I'm always fun to be arou-Ow."

An elbow was shoved into his side at her disapproval, but to Sonic it meant that she was all better. He smiled, clutching his side as he applied the now quite warm bottle of water to the side. It was hardly an injury, but with Blaze, it was better to be on the safe side.

"So, anywhere else that's actually exiting to go, Sonic?" She wore a stern frown, a relatively normal look. There was still some emotion in her voice, but it wasn't sorrow or regret. "This just... isn't doing it."

"Well, there's go-karts."

"Raced on air boards that go ten times faster than those things."

"There's the food court."

"I am not eating that disgusting edible garbage you call 'fast food,' Sonic."

"There's the Love Tunnel" She stopped and stared at him.

"You wanna get tossed in the deep end of that pool with the waves we passed earlier?"

"Okay, okay, sheesh. I was just joking. Hmm..." Blaze continued to follow him as they walked through the rest of the maze, carefully following his every step. At last, he gave up on trying to find an honest attraction that he thought she'd like. "Well, you wanna go to the AS-I Arcade and ride their giant pinball machine?" He heard her footsteps stop.

"What exactly is this 'giant pinball machine?" He flashed his trademark smile at the firey feline and kept on walking.

"Simple. The most exiting ride Twinkle Park doesn't know it has."

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: __"Did that kill him?"_

"_No."_


	5. Back 2 Back Part 2

Normally I won't do a note at the top of a part two unless necessary. Of course, that's presuming I maintain a note every single chapter. Now that we've hit the the 5th chapter, I'm going to try to cut back on them; its just my personal style. Also, since this is a part two, there's no initial Anne's Essay quip at the beginning. That's probably going to be the norm for Part 2's. Also, sorry about the delay. Been addicted to Minecraft (Oh God, oh God you have no idea...) among other things.

Ok, so I've changed a few things in previous chapters. Nothing much, just a few words here and there. If you find them, Kudos to you. If not, don't worry. They're not plot changing devices or anything. Just trying to include some lines from the song the title is named after (from Sonic Rush, if you haven't noticed. Should give you a hint where I'm taking things, maybe?) and such. On a side note, I got Sonic and Sega Racing this Christmas. It's kind of odd how they included Big the Cat rather than some other characters (perhaps, um, Blaze?). Then again, it is quite fun and actually fairly different from Mario Kart (which I don't have, so it's a good substitute.) My cousin actually thought it was better than Mario Kart, so who knows? Still, I hope she winds up as dlc eventually now. Regardless, this begs the question: Why does Sonic have a car?

**Back 2 Back (Part 2):**_(Flashback chapter)_

Cars raced through the eternal night of Twinkle Park's Indi 500 circuit, a combination of bumper cars and high speed racing. An arcade lay nearby, almost looming over the course with it's giant pinball machine. Blaze's eyes watched as the craft bounced around on the one the rather radical highway, almost intrigued outwardly. Sonic's obsession with speed must have had no end if he was willing to race in a car, rather than on foot. Then again, what had she expected with the whole air-boarding events?

The odd vehicles glided by again, as if destroying the concept of grace itself upon running head-on into the border wall of the curve. A challenge of speed control and evasion, as well as bashing anyone out of your way. Or, to some, just high speed bashing that they so desperately wished to emulate on a real highway. No doubt every diabolical doctor she'd ever met would rather do the latter. Then again, she had to give Sonic that. It actually looked rather interestin–

"Hey, Blaze, I found it," exclaimed the hedgehog from behind her, souring her mood slightly through the sound of his voice. "It's been a while since I've sneaked in here."

"Where exactly does 'that' lead to?" she inquired. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't a place most were willing to go, given the 'No Access' sign on the fence nearby. The sign was actually holographic, but had appeared when they got close. Apparently, however advanced the park was, alarms were beyond them.

"I said it was the best ride Twinkle Park didn't know it had, didn't I?" Sonic pointed up over the fence to the looming advertisement beyond. What had once been an attention grabber for the 'AS-I' Pinball Arcade area quickly became a nightmarish depiction right out of Sonic's 'Spinball' adventure he had once told her about when they were still on better terms. Apparently, it was fun enough to repeat willingly. "C'mon, you have the phrase 'scaredy-cat' in your world, don't you?"

"Actually, no, we don't," She replied, maintaining her dignity as she made her way down Sonic's non-standard pathway. In fact, the phrase curiously existed in both dimensions, and Blaze guessed it went back before her dynasty came to power. Either that, or it was a result from one of her predecessors, but she couldn't be sure. Sonic just gave a slight laugh, bringing her unease to a slightly higher level.

Not that she would ever show it.

The end of the passageway came as quickly as it had begun, now exposing the internal mechanics of the giant pinball machine. It was unusual in comparison to Eggman and Nega's mechanics; they whipped everything into looking formal and nice, glowing lights and all. Here lay rusting pipes and large gray boxes with warning labels on their doors.

As if the Eggmen would ever put warning labels on anything.

Sonic was working on her right to open some sort of chute. Suddenly, the empty air behind it allowed a large steel ball through into the pipe beyond. Walking over to it, she peered through the miniature windows. Inside were more large steel balls, just sitting there. Each was the size of large truck tire, and almost as tall as her. With a crack, they moved up one position, and steam started to hiss somewhere. She looked to her left. A large cylinder used to be behind an open door; now the space was hollow besides the steel ball sitting at it's bottom.

Three moments and one loud noise later, the large cylinder was in position again. The ball was flying somewhere above them, and it struck her what this machine really was; the launching mechanism. Surprise became overridden by fear at the realization, and suddenly she found the prospect that her ancestors had been the reason 'scaredy-cat' entered language a lot more probable.

"Looks fun, doesn't it, Blaze?" Sonic suddenly said, now standing next to her. "I finally got the loading hatch open. Its a lot harder than the launcher's hatch, oddly enough. It's a lot easier to get out there than holding the balls back, even if they are hollow." He paused for a moment, and smiled at her. She was still staring at the cylinder, no indication of emotion on her face. He figured that was a good thing. "You ready?"

The look she gave him was mechanical, a scowl intent upon warping his face. What set it apart in nature was that it didn't give the same focus to the eyes, giving the gesture an almost artificial nature. Her mind was elsewhere, but habit from Blaze's throttle lobe dictated she blame him. In reality, there was a certain horror going through her mind, creating an isolated bliss, apart from the world, focused entirely on that horror. The nerves frayed in her fingers from the potential acceleration. Speed was Sonic's hobby, not hers, so why was she letting him pull her into the launcher?

"You probably wanna hold on your first time." Her eyes lit up in realization as she snapped back to reality, now inside the thing and the door latched. Sonic was holding out a hand, flashing that smile of his. She wanted to set him on fire. Instead, a hiss emanated from beneath. An audible snap initiated the upward momentum, and an abject terror ran through her along with adrenaline.

She held.

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: __"Oh, Tails is dead. Congratul–"_

_*Tails reappears suddenly* "Oh."_

There were many things Sonic the Hedgehog would do. He would run, for instance. He would spin. He would dash through just about any obstacle course made from the strangest roads and geological formations. It was all daily routine. It was all fun, high speed, feel the wind on your face trying to rip your quills right out of your skin, or with if necessary, life. This was not fun, nor was it high speed. This was sitting on a bench, waiting paitently. It was enough to make anyone passing by the blue blur not even think of the supersonic 'urban legend' that several fake news outlets (and the internet) trumpeted everyday.

Yet he felt the odd sensation of satisfaction, glad that Blaze, normally desiring to turn the castle fireplace into his crematorium, was enjoying herself from his actions. Actions that didn't end in himself getting hurt, or even foul looks. So he smiled, watching the fake stars move through the sky like the real night, appreciating the full moon. It was the only place you could still see it in this world, after Egghead had blown it into an eternal monument to Pac-Man.

Blaze launched herself again, presumably in a giddy fit. Hopefully she wouldn't be too sick after it all. They were supposed to meet Amy and Anne after the show at 2:30. Sonic wondered what time it was now, and looked around for a clock. Twinkle park was known for how easily one could get lost in for the day, and they'd only announce the time at closing. Despite the complex layout, people lost their time more often than their locations. He stretched his legs with a quick crack and, making sure no one was around, dashed off. There had to be a clock around somewhere, right?

Sonic ran through the park's castle, along the roller coasters, along the water, and even in the beach's dining area. No clocks. Apparently it wasn't fully accidental how people lost time in the park. Finally, reaching the main entrance, a small, analog clock was perched above the entryway, almost out of sight if you weren't looking for it. He was glad it had only taken him about fifteen seconds to find it, but the smile was quickly replaced with a frown.

Three ten.

Ducking under some piping, he made his way back through his unofficial entrance to the pinball launcher as Blaze stepped out. Her fur was roughed up, and she has a more worrying face than he'd ever seen: unrestricted bliss. Smiling had never been her strongest ability, but it never showed off like it did now, as if it was a jack-o-lantern made with a watermelon.

"Blaze. Blaze!" He called to her, wanting to hold her by the arm but uncertain how off the handle she could fly if he did. "Hey! We need to go meet up with "Anne! It's-"

"One more time," the cat managed as she made her way step by step to the launcher like a schoolgirl discussing a crush to her friends. "Just once more." Sonic sighed as she closed the door, not sure if this Blaze was worse than the normal one. Despite his defeat, a good mood remains as the hedgehog returns to his bench nest for watching the pinballing cat. Honestly, she had already beaten his high score. Twice. Wasn't that enough?

He was promptly tackled by an odd sapient in a black hat with a small white cohort.

"Daddy!" it went.

"Hey, Anne!" He smiled, picking "How was the- is that a rabbit?"

"Yea." Her smile almost mirrored that of her mother's, but it was a much more childish, fun smile. And more of a Sonic smile, as well. It belonged on her, anyway. Still, this time he wasn't trusting the normal excitement of his daughter to just from one magic show.

"Hey Ames," he called to Amy, running up behind Anne now, "How'd the show go?

"What the hell do you feed that kid?"

"First off, Satin has nothing to do with this. We had a heart to heart already, okay? Second, ask Blaze, but since she's royalty i'm pretty sure it's healthier than a diet of chili dogs anyway so i'm sure it's normal." Anne chimed with glee at the mention of chili dogs, but for once rare instance, Sonic ignored his daughter. "So what happened?"

"He picked a volunteer."

"I don't see what's so bad about that."

"Who do you think he picked?" A pair of seconds passed before the blue hedgehog realized exactly where she was going with this.

"Oh. Anne, did you steal the hat?" almost immediately, a cute kitten look went onto her face, signaling the little bit of parenting skill Sonic had to kick in, his smile waning.

"No."

"What about the rabbit?"

"Maybe."

"Was the rabbit in the hat when you stole it?"

"Yes." there was a pause "He was being cruel! Making it jump into and out of his hat while living on top of his head!" Sonic's hand made its way to his forehead like a crazy taxi. "But now Snuggles is free to be free!" She held up the rabbit into her fathers face, trying to make a point with it's dull stare into his eyes. He returned the equally intelligent expression, before the rabbit made its way back to the hat below with the assistance of the planet's gravity and Anne's short attention span, now occupied by the insane pinball machine nearby "Is that Mom?"

The Mom-ball bounced through the course, slowly losing velocity as she moved towards the top of the board. The racers nearby went completely ignored as Blaze made her way past her previous high score, before slipping up and falling out and down the chute back into the launcher. Acting fast, Sonic ran back in, grabbed his jilted lover (damn the consequences), and returned to the bench in the blink of an eye. "Yep."

"Mommy!"

"Hi, Anne!" Blaze managed mechanically, before falling to her knees and removing lunch through what would normally be considered the entryway of the ride that is the intestinal track, stomach, and esophagus. Pity befell both hedgehogs before she made her way to the bench and promptly passed out from the exhaustion, smoke filling the background.

"Hey, Amy?" Sonic inquired, "Isn't that smoke where your magic show was?" the tent off in the distance poured the smoke more and more, like a broken toaster Tails had 'fixed' as his first act of mechanical providence within the confines of a kitchen.

"I asked what you fed the kid!"

"Her mother is a fire-controlling cat. Even if Anne doesn't use the ability much, she still has it and- what's that sound?" Robotic sirens flared, followed by the traditional red and blue lights that signalled law enforcement. "Security? You didn't tell me Security was chasing you?"

"She started a _fire_."Amy's pink face was turning red. Why, he wasn't sure. It could have been the frustration with him, or it could have been the circle Security was forming around them. "I think they believe that she has a _bomb_ or something on her. Is that something you _don't ever think about!"_

"You say to a supersonic hedgeho-" Something hit him, spiraling him into a homing attack on the 'bots out of habit. They began firing back, but Sonic evaded. They weren't Egg-quality robots, anyway, so they were less than trash. They shouldn't have been able to hit him, and looking back for an answer, he received one.

Amy had Anne in one hand, and the Piko Piko hammer in the other. _Nice distraction, Ames,_ he thought. Making his way to Blaze, he loaded her over his shoulder and ran off after the girls, her back to his. It would be a while before they called of this search...

NOW LOADING...


	6. Ethno Circus

Ok, so the big new thing in this chapter is the whole mind battle thing. I think I made it obvious enough, but still thought I should mention it here. Off Minecraft, and onto other things, and finally back around to this. Thought I'd shout that out quick.

But seriously, the brain section is a real... piece of work? Its not really in my style but it was in the original and was very funny so I tried to do a take on it, although it's has some variation. Let me know how it works out. (really wish I could have read that argument one more time. I feel like I really messed it up). Sorry for the long, long long delay (about... 18 months for reference. Putting this up in August 2012), I've been rather swept up in life. But that isn't to say my mind hasn't been on this. I'll cut with the excuses though and get on with it.

**Ethno Circus:**

"_As odd as it may seem, my father was the one to first tell me about the Sol Emeralds my mother guards, rather than my mother herself. She won't let me see them, even. If I am to become their guardian one day, shouldn't I at least know what I'm guarding? Then again, I suppose the point is that Mother _is _still the guardian. Dad mentioned that they are supremely powerful, mystical gems of flame, and it takes training only my mother can give me to wield it properly. I've never seen her wield them, and she hasn't really tried to teach me anything specific about it. Then again, I'm not too far along in learning about fire to begin with. Once I overheard my mother discussing some similar 'Chaos Emeralds' on the phone in her office. I wonder if they're related, but I doubt it. Chances are they're just some alternate name given how chaotic things get whenever Mom loses the Sol Emeralds. She hasn't in a while, so that's good. (This is in with Dad's section because mom doesn't like talking about it to me.)"_

"Oh yea, that was fun!" Sonic shuttered outwardly; Blaze, inwardly. "I remember staying at Uncle Tails's house while we waited for him to fix his, his... uhh..."

"Portal, Anne," Blaze finished. The sun had moved the shadows again, now twice as long as when Sonic and Anne had arrived. But the sky was still reflecting the color of her disdain, so it was not quite dinner time.

"Right. We should do that again with Aunty Amy. Can we, Dad? Could you bring her next time?"

"No," her mother said firmly, not even giving sonic a chance to weigh his options between his daughter's happiness and a hammer-headache.

"Awww, why not?"

"Anne," Blaze said tiredly, "Why do you like Amy so much?" The hedgecat seemed slightly taken by the question, before regaining her composure with her father's speed. Ironically, it was her mother that had passed on the trait.

"Well, she buys me lots of things and gives me more attention than anyone I can think of, except Dad when we're out having fun." Blaze's ears folded down. They did not turn, as if angry, but remained forward. They merely fell. Sonic might have noticed, but if he did, he didn't show it. Anne, consumed in her own thoughts, continued, "And she doesn't treat me like a kid like you two do."

"Anne, you're _twelve,_" interjected her father. "That's still considered pre-teen where I come from. It's not even old enough to date in most modernized human societies."

"We're not human, Dad," Anne chuckled back, very much like her father. "Besides, when did you start dating? When you were eight? Ten? It's a wonder you ever stopped, presuming Uncle Tails wasn't lying."

"When was that? Six years ago?" Blaze sneered, an unknown frustration venting on her daughter's father.

"Actually, Uncle Tails said it was... well by now it's like, twelve or thirteen years ago. It was a few years back, presuming you haven't been up to anything since then." Blaze absorbed the information with an unmoving, unemotional face.

"Don't worry, I haven't Anne. I'm too busy with this family, anyway." He grinned, enforcing the positive meaning behind the words to his daughter. Anne laughed, but Blaze remained stoic, unaware of the conversation taking place beyond her mind, instead consumed by another within.

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: "We're totally in Venice, by the way."..._

"_We're definitely in Delfino."*cue singing Mario Sunshine's Delfino Plaza theme*_

In reality, what was occurring was a natural phenomenon that constituted the processing of information in the brain of any and all life forms, sentient or not. Glutamates traveling from synapse to synapse in a mad relay race to their destination, carrying vital information required to make decisions based on how to interpret this new information. But because the scientific approach yields little in terms of a dramatic approach, lets look at it another way.

And so the brain is reimagined as a library out of science fiction, it's shelves filled with various data pads and iPads of various makes and models, books scattered around with them, labeled cleanly, if slightly dusty. The shelves were indexed based not by when, but by what. Some discussed skills while other held memories. One specific book, labeled 'Sonic,' near the end of an index of people in the memory isle, was being quarreled over by a pair of Blaze-like librarians. The normally quiet hushes of all the other thought process were gone, as they listened to the objections to their points made by one another.

The first and more prominent of the two was the specific element of control. It was used often, to in varying degrees, but might as well own the place whenever a specific blue speeder was present this side of the vast dimensional gateway. Her garb was red, and always holding a scalding hot cup of coffee that never completely drained in her left hand. Indeed, this part of Blaze could be very threatening, especially when teamed up with Frustration or Anger.

The challenger to Control's monopoly over the Sonic entry was the intelligent but not the most used Optimism. It was not that Blaze didn't ever try to be optimistic, but rather there was little to be optimistic about. Realism was more her thing, but realism had since learned never to challenge Control when it came to Sonic the Hedgehog. It was very difficult to reason with Control, especially when she put her foot down and used her favorite word.

"No."

"You heard Anne, Sonic hasn't dated anyone since-"

"No."

"So you just plan to ignore this one fact because it doesn't fit everything else you've put in this _opinionated_ entry?

"This entry is entirely factual."

"And this is a f_act_. About Sonic. It belongs in the entry as well."

"It needs more time to be processed."

"You just don't like to think that maybe there is something good in him."

"There isn't."

"Then what about this? What about all the world saving he's done? What about-"

"Shut it! This is over!"

"Then what about the fact that he hasn't dated anyone since me?" there was nothing to hate about that. She was stumped. It just didn't fit in with everything Blaze had ever come to think of the Blue Blur. "You never put a reason to why he wasn't there when I woke up."

"There didn't need to be one. It's not excusable."

"How do you know? Maybe he regrets it?"

"Sonic? Regret?" The emotion of humor laughed three aisles over, two miles down. "Sonic doesn't 'regret' anything. Ever."

"Well then, ask him."

"He won't tell the truth."

"Well then figure it out! Ask Tails, see if he knows anything!"

"Tails will just tell Sonic, and then it'll never get figured out."

"Alright, you may have a point. If he is the liar you think he is. In that case I just have to figure out why then. Step by step."

"Presuming I let you get as far as the first step."

"Hey, if he hasn't had a date since our night, it doesn't just add up given all the girls he's been with before, does it?" There was no immediate answer. Dead silence, filled by a slight flicker in the lights. "Well?"

"I... all right. Lets-"

"Warning: presently being spoken to. Incoming audio: "Hey Blaze, you okay?" "Mom?"

"Crap," they both said at once, as Worry began to panic. Practiced mental tranquilizers quickly subdued her.

_Lets Play Sonic 2006: "We're running along the_

_windows XP background, yea. Bliss" "This game is far from bliss."_

"Hey Blaze, you okay?" Sonic asked, a mixed look of curiosity and worry he whimsically reffered to as 'worriosity.' Anne shared his look.

"Mom?"

"Sorry, sorry. I'm fine." She shook her head, regaining her composure. The shadows had moved again, ever so slightly. "Is that true?"

"Is what true?" Sonic asked.

"That you haven't been in a relationship since..." She trailed off, hoping Sonic would catch the hint. His face contorted to skepticism, almost a wrinkly look.

"Why do you wanna know?" He said, not wanting to say the wrong thing and risk getting burned. There were at least twenty-five ways the firecat could burn him, and he never could decide if the physical ones were worse than the mental, or vice verse. Blaze was about to repeat herself when something stopped her. What about this was so dire that she needed to reveal herself? What would they think of her desire to know? It wasn't like her to be interested in Sonic's life, and this wasn't the time to start. There was no trust in him when it came to family life, anyway? Memories flashed back through her mind, of their night, their quarrels, their fight. Emotion began pouring through her, and not just the firey ire she normally had for the hedgehog. It consumed her, until she tired from a mysterious bout of overexertion. After several moments, she finally spoke.

"I don't know. Never mind. It's not important." She sighed, standing up and looking back in the direction of the capitol. "I should be getting back to the castle. I still have work to do."

"But Mom!" Anne whined, putting her arms around her mother's waist. The Queen gazed down at her for a moment, then tilted her head upwards as a glare directed itself towards the hedgehog. Sonic only shrugged, before a wry smile turned to Anne once again.

"Hey Anne, have I told you about the time I went to an evil amusement park in space?"

His daughter's eyes turned to him, wide opened and attentive. Blaze's gaze was just as focused on him, but with an ire in her eyes. She'd been to that 'Eggmanland' for a short while, but it wasn't a strong memory in her head. The name alone gave it away for what the story was likely to entail.

"Sonic..." she spoke strongly, her tone doing the protesting. In an instant it was drowned out by an eager hedgecat practically leaping right to him. She loathed him for the attention her daughter gave him, but the thought was quickly derailed as her mind slipped back into a stern thoughtfulness as Anne rumbled out question after question.

"In _space_?! What's space like, daddy! You've gotta take me there sometime! How did you get there? And how did Eggman build an evil park in space? Did he do it to make up for blowing up the moon?"

Sonic smiled as he bent a knee up, relaxing against a tree. "Well, I don't know how he did it, but he managed to chain a series of miniature planets together-"

"No," Blaze seethed to him, stirred at the mention of planets again from her thought. "One planet's more than enough. Do not go filling Anne's head with more self richeous stories." She was uncertain if that was the correct term, but distracted enough to not care. Sonic, having taken note of her irritable nature, chose not to comment on it. Before he could respond to her rebuke, she shot off in a trail of fading flames. Sonic only shook his head, grabbing Anne's arm as she moved to run after her mother.

"Let her be, Anne. You know she's got a lot on her mind under normal circumstances." A smirk snuck up his chin as he let go, putting his hands between his quills and the tree trunk. "That's not including all the trouble you cause for her."

"Me?" The hedgecat puffed, practically twirling back to face her father. "What about you! She's even worse when you're here! Or mentioned." Her smile quickly reappeared in a momentary lull, before speaking again. "Or when I pretend to be you."

"You pretend to be me?" Sonic laughed, "Apparently you got my survival instincts. Lets hope you never have to escape Hell."

"Dad!" She exclaimed, "Even I don't get into that much trouble! Besides, we're good guys," Anne dismissed. "We don't go there."

"Well... that's not entirely true, Anne. That being said, the Devil's not at all genre-saavy." She blinked, looking down at her father for a moment, before sitting down across from him, jovial face replaced by one of awe and disbelief.

"You went... Why?! How!"

"Well, I _might_ have sold a teeny tiny piece of my soul to the Devil when I was fighting Chaos, but your mother and I will both be very disappointed if you ever do that, Anne." The pre-teen hedgecat leaned in, her hands down on the sand and her tail straight back to keep from falling over.

"But what if I'm fighting a PMS-ing god of time that eats dimensions for breakfast and thinks the universe is it's private all you can eat buffet?" Sonic blinked, slightly disturbed by the description, but never let his smile waver. The question of where she picked up 'PMS-ing' lay in the back of his mind, wondering where she picked that up. It certainly _wasn't_ from him.

"Then you do what I did." Anne still sat across from him, attentive as ever, yet she'd completely forgotten about the 'Eggmanland' story either. As much as Blaze might have protested that tale, this one she would have been far more disapproving of. So, Anne did the only thing her curiosity would let her.

"What did you do, Dad?" she asked quickly.

NOW LOADING...


End file.
